The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

They just yanked the Captain off like it was a game, and no one thought to ask the legit Captain what he thought?

He Bi stared wide-eyed.

However, no matter how wide He Bi’s eyes got, nobody came over to ask his opinion. The newly appointed Captain Chu Jiaojiao slid straight into the role.

The Space Rift’s channel was very narrow, pitch-black on all sides. It looked like there was nothing there at all, only a thin transparent layer at the entrance—no one knew what material it was—forming the channel wall that kept the spaceship from touching all that darkness outside.

This layer of channel wall was incredibly fragile, giving people the anxiety that the slightest touch might shatter it. In reality, its load-bearing capacity was completely out of control, changing at any moment. It could become freakishly sturdy; even hundreds of spaceships rolling over it at once might not crush it.

But it could also be ridiculously brittle. When it was brittle, it couldn’t even bear the weight of a person around 50 kilos.

As for whether it would be solid or fragile—that all depended on a person’s luck!

This was the kind of knowledge Mu Jianling and Principal Hong had specifically science-dumped on Chu Jiaojiao and the others before they entered the Space Rift. So they all held a healthy respect for this Space Channel they were in.

Chu Jiaojiao said, "Shen Changqing, turn on the Protective Shield and don’t switch it off. Be ready to sprint at any time."

Shen Changqing nodded. "Mm."

Chu Jiaojiao turned to Yue Qiguang and said, "Go to Senior He Bi’s treatment cabin. As soon as he wakes up, assign him to stand watch in the monitoring room."

Yue Qiguang raised a brow. "Just that little bit of work? Do we need anyone to watch over that idiot in pod 4444?" The fact that he’d been reduced to a messenger and patient sitter made Yue Qiguang deeply unwilling. He felt he was meant for far more glorious battlefields. As far as he was concerned, Chu Jiaojiao was openly retaliating because he’d tried to snatch the Captain’s position from her.

Cough cough...

Of course, that was just Yue Qiguang’s super conceited and self-confident take. In reality, the reason Chu Jiaojiao dumped this on him was simply that Yue Qiguang was the freest one right now.

Chu Jiaojiao said, "Ignore classmate Ji You for now. Go check if Liu Fufeng is awake yet. If he is, call him over."

Before Yue Qiguang could open his mouth, Chu Jiaojiao heard a faint voice from the side say, "I’m awake."

Chu Jiaojiao jumped. "You’re awake? When did you wake up? Why didn’t you say anything?"

Liu Fufeng was sitting by the wall, with a little stool under his butt that he’d moved there himself. After he came out of the treatment cabin, the spaceship had hit an extremely critical moment. Liu Fufeng saw that no one was paying him any attention and he couldn’t help anyway, so he forced himself to haul over a small stool and sat down in the corner.

Right now, Liu Fufeng’s face still didn’t have a hint of color, white as paper. His figure looked very thin, very scrawny... The overall impression he gave off was one of utter listlessness, unable to muster any energy.

Facing Chu Jiaojiao’s questioning, Liu Fufeng said weakly, "I woke up before we entered the Space Rift. I called out to you guys. You just didn’t hear me."

Seriously, he really had called out. But no one noticed him, no one heard him. There was no strength in his body, and slightly raising his voice took a huge effort. So in the end, Liu Fufeng gave up.

Seeing the state Liu Fufeng was in, worry flashed in Chu Jiaojiao’s eyes and was gone. She said, "Can you still use your spiritual power? Does it feel strenuous? I need you to pull yourself together and carefully watch our surroundings, especially this layer of channel wall. Ideally, you can grasp its weak spots and its strength..."

Liu Fufeng blinked and said honestly, "This thing might be hard to get a handle on."

Chu Jiaojiao mulled it over and said, "Just try your best. We can’t predict when this channel wall will shatter or when it’ll reinforce, but if we can find even the tiniest pattern in how it runs, maybe we can warn of danger ahead of time?"

Aside from Ji You, the one on X3848 with the most precise spiritual power control was Liu Fufeng. Although Liu Fufeng was sometimes very weak, very weak, so weak it felt like you could pinch him to death with two fingers—occasionally he would explode, becoming so strong it was terrifying and made people instinctively fear him. As for what the deal was with his spiritual power, Chu Jiaojiao and the others didn’t really know. But there was no doubt that right here and now, handing the task of observing changes in the channel wall to someone like Liu Fufeng, whose spiritual power was powerful, was their best option.

However, Liu Fufeng alone wasn’t enough.

After all, this guy’s performance was wildly unstable. They needed another layer of insurance.

Chu Jiaojiao said, "I’ll have Yue Qiyuan assist you."

Yue Qiyuan had just come out from Ji You’s treatment cabin area and happened to hear this. He said, "I can try it together with Fufeng."

Chu Jiaojiao’s nerves had been stretched taut, not daring to relax for even a second. With the slightest mistake, the entire spaceship could be wiped out. Right now, the life and safety of everyone aboard were tied to her. She had to give it everything she had.

Hearing Yue Qiyuan mention Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao spared a moment to ask, "How is classmate Ji You?"

Yue Qiyuan rolled his eyes. "Don’t worry about her. She’s snoring loud enough to shake the hull. She’s not dying."

At that, Chu Jiaojiao’s lips couldn’t help but curve up slightly. "As expected of classmate Ji You. Even her snoring is one-of-a-kind."

Yue Qiyuan: "..."

Blind worship of beauty—zero rationality.

Chu Jiaojiao chuckled and said, "I told you, how could classmate Ji You possibly go down? She was just exhausted just now and crashed, that’s all."

That angry roar of Ji You’s, even though it was aimed only at the Star Beast Group, was felt by everyone guarding the Space Rift. Their hearts all skipped uneasily.

Dangerous, terrifying, enormous, vast... Like an Abyss, boundless and shoreless, with no end in sight. Yet at the same time, it carried no chill. Chu Jiaojiao wasn’t scared; she just felt a bit weak in the knees...

...

Hearing Chu Jiaojiao brag about Ji You in that totally brainless tone, Yue Qiyuan couldn’t be bothered to respond. He cursed her inwardly, then decided to go carry out the mission with Liu Fufeng. As he lowered his head, he saw Liu Fufeng had started folding paper again. Yue Qiyuan’s mouth twitched; somewhat annoyed, he said, "Whose little voodoo doll are you making now?"

Liu Fufeng shook his head. "It’s not a curse doll. This is for blessings. I wrote the words ’good luck’ on the paper. I need to fold 66 of these. That’ll be enough."

Yue Qiyuan’s mouth twitched. "Why 66?"

Liu Fufeng said as if it were obvious, "Because six six great success. You don’t even know that?"

Yue Qiyuan: "..."

Instead of spitting back at him, Yue Qiyuan actually crouched down and squeezed into the corner by the wall with Liu Fufeng. He reached out and swiped a sheet of paper over.

Liu Fufeng: "???"

Yue Qiyuan said, "I’ll fold them with you."

Liu Fufeng: "..."

Yue Qiyuan said, "Let’s try to stack ourselves a double serving of six six great success."

"..." Liu Fufeng muttered quietly, "More like a double serving of superstition..."